This is my 4th trip to the States in 2006. I’ve passed through over a dozen airports.
Despite the security nonsense of the summer (don’t point that toothpaste at me!) I had no major airport hassles.
Then I arrived 5:30AM at the Vancouver, BC airport American departures cattle drive. It was a mess. Long lines at every stop including Tim Hortons coffee shop. Clearly they do not have enough capacity for the volume of traffic.
Or — speculating wildly — insane union contracts (15min smoke break every hour?) results in this kind of shocking service.
Happily the airport will be much improved in time for the 2010 Winter Olympics. … Wait a minute…. It seems the Olympic budget has doubled from the original estimate and could get worse.
Avoid Vancouver airport if you can.
» next travelogue post on this trip – hiking Mt. Shasta California
Rick McCharles 
Yeah, but it is a nice airport nonetheless. But I have to agree, it is a mess dealing with these cattle lines. I recently flew out of Montreal to Vegas, speaking of nightmares. They use this new self check in kiosk method. The line up was long at 6AM and my frustration and airport rage increased rapidly. The attendants kept coming to the line to ask if anyone was on the “La Guardia flight” or the “timbuktu flight”. When one responded yes – they were then moved to the next available kiosk, in essence jumping the line. At one point I became very irritated and loudly proclaimed ” NOTE TO SELF – wake up late, arrive late and jump the line anyway” There was clearly no reason to show up on time, it simply meant a longer wait.
I HATE airports and I HATE morons who have no clue about flying etiquette and generally about the fact that they are actually not alone on this planet!
So don’t talk to me about airports! or toothpaste wielding foes!
Pingback: Rick McCharles » Blog Archive » thanks Stacey, thanks Bevan
I seriously wonder sometimes if the poor design of the Vancouver International Airport was at least partly responsible for the death of Polish national, Robert Dziekanski.
The Design of the Old Wing of the Vancouver Airport was decent, but this new part doesn’t seem very well laid out compared with other Airports I’ve been to around the world. Montreal and Toronto seem a lot better. The Architects for Vancouver’s seemed to be more concerned about making a visual impactwith that green Haida statue than making an efficient transportation facility. It seems very inefficient and hard to get around the New Airport. Signage is poor. Circulation is bad. Also, to have an airport which seems to wind in curve than go in a straight line makes it somewhat cumbersome to get around. Plus it’s not very streamlined when one comes in from an International flight, which Dziekanski had done. As I seem to recall, you come in through the customs, go from one desk to the next, and it’s not very straightforward. You zig-zag and got back and forth between counters. Its functionality ranks with Heathrow Airport in England, perhaps the worst of International airports I’ve been to. Little wonder that Dziekanski got so confused and frustrated. Most International airports would take a person to where the want to go in a building. But not Vancouver’s.
Also, video footage before Dzienkanski died shows him coming in and out of the airport cameras, and the airport security didn’t even know he was there. The view of the Pole appeared to be obstructed at times. God knows what we’d do if there was a terrorist in there with a bunch of hostages. What would the police do if they can’t even see the lobby by camera?
Good point regarding that poor new immigrant.
Thanks for your input.